All-Out Battle!
Provisions Akane's eyes snapped open. She removed herself from the arms of the sleeping Kaiya and Yuri and walked outside of their shelter. She breathed in the fresh air. One of their precious 5 days had been lost. Now they only had 4 days to get their Earth Scroll. Even through the density of the trees, the Forest of Death looked rather spectacular. It was as if they were on a simple nature hike; the illumination of the sunlight gave the forest canopy a bright and majestic appearance. The birds' silhouettes wa continuously seen flying overhead, their nature songs chorusing through the gentle winds. Even in enemy territory... it was a good-looking day to be outside. Akane yawned. Guess it was time to wake up the sleeping beauties so they could get moving. She walked back into the shelter and stooped down, kissing them both on the cheeks and whispering. "Wake up." "Nnn...?" Kaiya was the first one to wake up from her slumber, eyes slowly opening to the darkness of her cave. Slowly, she propped herself up on her elbows and tilted her neck around in order to get the stiffness from the muscle. "Morning already...?" She slurred. "And I was having a good sleep..." She slowly pulled herself up to her feet, working out her limbs as she did so. "Eh, it's a nice day outside. Why sleep through it?" Akane asked as Yuri arose, rubbing her eyes. "Nnn..." Though she could see the bright light from outside, Kaiya remained focused on attempting to shake herself awake. It was such a pain to wake up - especially in cases where there was a time limit. She was starting to regret suggesting the method of constant moving, if these were the results. Then again, it still saved them time... "What's wrong Kaiya?" Akane asked. "Not a morning person?" "Yeah... sorry, Akane." The short-haired girl apologized, raising a hand to the back of her head in slight embarrassment. "I've never been used to waking up so early before, so I'm a little tired still." "Just like Yuri." Akane laughed. She breathed deeply for a moment. "I can wake ya up." In a suprise move, she leaned in and kissed Kaiya full on the mouth. The sweet sensation of her lips once more. It caused Kaiya's eyes to widen slightly, but she accepted the gentle offer welcomingly. She allowed Akane's lips to grace her own, closing her eyes for the period that they were connected. Akane pulled back, grinning. "You awake now?" "I'd say so." Kaiya replied, smiling gently. "Thank you, Akane." "Awright!" Akane grinned. "By the way Yuri how do you feel?" "I've felt worse." Yuri replied, standing up. "So what do we do know?" Akane asked. "I'd say we eat first." Yuri replied. "No use hunting for scrolls if we don't have the energy to nab them." Kaiya nodded in agreement. "But, what shall we eat? I don't really feel like eating fish again..." She pondered. "We could eat each other." Akane suggested innocently. Yuri blushed furiously. "Hey, none o' that!" Kaiya scolded laughingly. "Especially not in this morning..." Folding her arms across her chest, she looked at her two teammates. "Then again, I suppose that fishing could be the only option..." "Unless you want to eat fruits, berries, and rabbit stew." Yuri suggested, pulling out a book entitled Delicacies of the Woods. "...you didn't say anything about that before..." "You never asked." Yuri replied, smiling. "So take your pick. Fish, or stew." Kaiya gave a light shrug. "All right, then. Stew." She decided, eager to escape the taste of fish while the chance was good. Yuri stowed the book back inside her hip pouch. "Alright, guess this is where your hunting knife comes in handy Kaiya." She said as the exited the shelter. "I'm getting a scent of rabbit not too far from here." "Right..." Kaiya confirmed quietly. They moved quietly, leaning into the grass so as to avoid detection, and spotted two rabbits near a tree, just brazenly standing there. The short-haired girl already had her hunting knife out, held in a twisted back-hand position. "All right... we're in position. How're we gonna do this?" She questioned quietly, her gaze on nothing but the two rabbits. "I've never hunted before, so I wouldn't know." Yuri replied. "You have the knife, you do the killin'." The rabbits looked up, not even knowing three people wanted to eat them. It was just like her teammates to leave her to do the work. Thankfully, she knew what she was doing. Her knife was clutched tightly, and she peered down her targets with intense eyes. For a moment, she didn't move from her spot as she observed the two animals. Then, she struck. With a lunge that only a tiger could perform, she was upon the beasts before their instinctive nature could kick in. With her knife, she swung down and plunged it right into the back of one rabbit's head for an instant kill. Then, in twisting her body, she swung her leg to the ground and upon the neck of the other rabbit. The force snapped the bone in two. Too easy. Akane winced. "Poor Bunnies." Yanking the knife out, Kaiya stood up and picked up her two kills by the scruff of their necks, smiling innocently. "I've got 'em!" She confirmed. "Let's eat!" Yuri laughed. "Not yet. We have to collect vegetables to make a decent stew." "Oh, right..." The smile vanished into a more curious look. "What shall I do with these, then?" "Carry 'em." Akane said. "I've got the vegetable and fruit mess covered." She said stooping down to pick up a crop. "No you don't." Yuri replied. "That's a Pieris plant it's poisonous." Akane looked panicked. "I guess we can thank Yuri for her plant knowledge, eh?" Kaiya teased, chuckling at the fact that Akane could've nearly killed herself out of such a mistake. Yuri smiled, and after kissing Akane on the cheek to wipe the panicked look off her face, started foraging for different plants. It took only a few minutes and she came back with Ninjin (carrots), Jaigaim (potato) and Horenso (spinach). "I think we've got a good haul." She said smiling. "Now let's get home and stew these so we can get moving." "Right-O!" They arrived back at their shelter and set up a small collapsible pot Yuri conveniently carried with her, After skinning the rabbit, cutting the vegetables and adding water to the pot, they added the ingredients. Akane got a fire starting under the pot and the time it took to cook gave them time to discuss their plan of action. Kaiya sat cross-legged on the ground, one eye closed, and one eye open. "We can move openly at night, but in the day time we have to stay quiet and keep a low profile. There's gonna be many that're gonna be awake at this time, as well." "So you wanna attack others while their asleep?" Akane asked, breathing in the scent of stew. "Sounds kinda mean." "No one said this was supposed to be fair." Kaiya countered sagely. "Fine.." Akane grumbled. "Yuri?" Kaiya turned her gaze towards her other companion. "What do you think?" "So long as we make it out of here intact, I don't care what approach we take." Yuri replied, stirring the stew. Kaiya sighed heavily, but said nothing in response. They sat in silence for awhile, and the stew was ready. Due to lack of bowls, They ate with spoons out of the pot. "So how will we tell who has an Earth Scroll or not?" Akane asked. "I'm not sure. The scrolls that they're carrying'll probably be hidden, so we won't have any idea of what ninja we face has the scroll we want." As she finished the statement, Kaiya frowned. "There's got to be some sort of option that'll let us know right away!" "Well," Yuri mumbled, swallowing stew. "We could attack one of their members and pose as them to find out." "We don't want to have to do something repetitive and tedious in order to find it." Kaiya reminded. "I don't here any ideas from you Kai." Yuri pointed out. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" "Well I am out of ideas." Yuri said. "Great..." The statement fell upon a deflated Kaiya, her optimistic mood dissipating. "Just great..." "Why can't we just launch a full on assault?" Akane asked, chewing bits of rabbit. "Because, something like that will expose us to other ninja too quickly. And I haven't exactly forgotten the fact that we were all almost killed by that one..." Yuri shuddered as she remembered the platinum haired boy. "Yea, Akane I think she's right." Akane sighed. "At this rate, the only way we are going to get a Earth Scroll is if Seken gives us his." "Which isn't going to happen." Kaiya finished in disappointment, setting her spoon down and flopping on her back. "This is soooo frustrating...." Yuri swallowed more stew and got up. "Kai, Akane, I'm going to take a quick surveillance of the forest, to find where the weakest teams are." "Yeah..." Kaiya acknowledged her with a wave. "We'll be here, planning something." Yuri smiled and took off out of the shelter. Surveillance Yuri leaped from tree to tree, looking around the area. It seemed to be cleared out, though she spotted blood here and there. There were no bodies, either. Obviously, the battle had started long before she had come, and the corpses had been cleared in order to remove heavy evidence, as well as hints of their hiding spots. It was no doubt - the competition was very, very smart. Yuri smelled the air. No trace of the platinum haired boys scent or Seken's. Had they made it to the tower? However, there was a different scent picked up. The scent of an enemy. There were three figures hiding in the darkness of the trees' shade, each one staring down what was to be a potential target. They were all dressed in rather casual attire, but retained a shinobi-like appearance, especially with the masks that covered the lower part of their face. On their headbands was the Iwagakure symbol, telling their affiliation right away. And there was another note. They had the Earth scroll. Yuri's nose twitched. She could choose to fight them now, but she was outnumbered. It'd be pointless. That was when they drew out their kunai, each one with an explosive tag on it. Their eyes sighted for the target, they readied themselves to attack, bodies tensing, and their eyes narrowing in concentration. Then, they threw. The moving bombs descended towards Yuri... Yuri was alerted to the smell of metal and petals formed around her absorbing that impact of the explosion. She turned around sighing. Seemed she'd have to fight whether wanted to or not. Instantly, two nin were upon her, flanking her side. One had a fist thrown in a punch, while the other had a leg raised in a kick. Both were aimed towards the weakest points of her petal defense, in a tactical blitzkrieg maneuver. The petals spread out and wrapped around the oncoming limbs. The petals moved like arms and threw the attacking ninja away from Yuri and from each other. She panted. These people were attacking her even though she didn't have a scroll. Maybe they liked killing. From above, another pair of kunai was sent at her exposed flank. A sense of sharp pain went from her side throughout her body, but the cut was not deep. She reached into her hip pouch and drew out a small sphere. She threw is down onto the ground and a blast of smoke issued out from it, concealing Yuri from view. That's when their attack stopped, the nin taken by surprise as they fell back to a safe distance. The sound of whizzing was heard as multiple weapons such as kunai, shuriken and Fuma Shuriken shot out of the smokescreen in all directions. Now the tables had turned. Stunned and taken off-guard, the ninja could only attempt to evade in a rather clumsy manner as they were assaulted. However, it was all for naught - the two that had dared to come up close were shredded, falling to the ground in their own blood. Only one remained - the one who held the scroll. "Give me the scroll." Yuri said, holding out her hand. The ninja growled angrily, settling into a defensive stance. "Fuck you, little bitch..." He snapped in defiance. "You'll never take our scroll!" "We kind of need it." She said innocently. "And I don't give a shit...!" Yuri sighed. "Then I'll have to beat you." She pulled out a scroll and summoned a giant fuma shuriken from it. "Forgive me..I'll have to crush your ambitions right here." In turn, the ninja took the change to throw its body at Yuri, fists raised in order to fight her once more. "Sumanai.." She murmured as she thrust the sharp edge of the star shaped weapon at the ninja as he closed in. SLASH! It couldn't dodge in time, and the weapon tore through his shoulder and heart, silencing him forever. He fell to the ground. Yuri reached into his pocket and took out the Earth Scroll. She used Earth Release to clear out a hole in the ground, placed the bodies in them, and said a quick prayer before leaving to head back to the shelter. However, even as she left, a set of eyes had remained fixed on her, having watched the entire thing from a high spot in the trees. The figure of a girl kept herself crouched and out of sight, her chakra masked. She slowly reached up to turn on her earpiece radio. "Mirai? How was it?" Came Seken's voice. "It turns out that at least one of 'em survived..." She commented, sounding impressed. "And the one that got nearly stabbed in the heart, in fact! Though, I don't see why you bother checking up on an ene--" "They're associates of mine. I take care of such." Seken replied confidently. "All right, if you're sure..." "Good. Come back quickly." ---- Yuri arrived back at the shelter while the two girls were still eating, triumphantly clutching her earth scroll. "Back already?" Kaiya commented, pushing herself up to a standing position and looking at her teammate. "Glad to see you in one--" Then her eyes fell on the scroll, widening in surprise. "You got an Earth scroll?! What'd you run into?!" "A Ninja Team that attacked me even though I didn't have a scroll." Yuri replied. "I had to kill them. I feel bad about it..." Immediately, Kaiya walked over to give her companion a hug for comfort. "Don't worry about it. You had to defend yourself, after all. But, at least we have both scrolls now." Akane grinned. "Way to go Yue-chan! I didn't know you had it in you!" "I'll take that as a compliment." Yuri replied, smiling at the hug Kaiya gave her. "So do we head to the tower now?" Akane asked. "Yup! We are good to go!" Kaiya confirmed, releasing Yuri and smiling confidently. "Alright." Yuri collapsed her pot again and place it back inside her hip pouch. "Just give a second, I want to change clothes." After five awkward minutes, Yuri emerged wearing a new shirt, skirt and had added a cloak-like cape to her outfit. "Yuri!" Kaiya put a hand to her mouth to keep from laughing. "You look so cute in that outfit!" Yuri blushed crimson again. "Thanks Kai." She murmured. "Yue-chan, where do you carry all this stuff anyway?" Akane asked. "With me." Was her simple response. In oen swift movement she shattered the shelter they had been using and flattened the ground so it looked as if no one had ever been there. "There.." She said, yawning. "Now lets move." "Right-o. Lead the way." Akane, Yuri, and Kaiya took off, heading towards the middle of the forest where the tower would be. As they took off, the platinum haired boy stepped out from behind a tree, watching them go. Third Event Start of the Preliminaries It wasn't long before they finally reached the tower. Although the doors were wide open, it looked as if it was completely abandoned. There were no lights, and small, various amounts moss covered the walls. It certainly looked a bit intimidating, almost as if something was bound to jump at them. Yuri was about to reach for the door, but Akane stopped her. "Wait, Yue-chan. I feel something around here...feels familiar..." "Eh?" Kaiya widened her eyes slightly, looking around. "Is it Seken's team? Did they get here before us?" "It feels like Seken.." Akane replied. "But I don't feel his presence inside the tower at all... Eh, maybe I'm losing my mind." "Maybe because I'm not inside yet." Speak of the Devil. It was the voice of Seken, a distance behind them, that had spoken with a rather calm tone. His figure was seen right beside two others, each with their own stances of idleness. "I see you're still alive..." He complimented, grinning. "Good for you." The female, known as "Mirai", scoffed. "Well, of course they're gonna make it. One of 'em's practically an armory, with those weapons!" At this, Kaiya blushed at the statement directed towards her. Akane grinned. "Heya Seken! Nice to see you made it too!" The black-haired teammate rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure. Greet the black guy, but not his teammates." He said dryly, though a small grin was across his face. That caused Seken to cock an eyebrow in his direction, but he said nothing in return. "I don't know you two." Akane replied apologetically. "I know one of them." Yuri said, pointing at the long haired boy. "He threw a spitball at me." "Name's Hokori." The man greeted, nodding. He motioned towards the girl. "And this is our violent tomboy Mirai." That caused the girl's eye to twitch. "I am not violent." She huffed, tossing a glare his way. "Her lips say no, but her eyes speak volumes." Yuri murmured. "Oh, really? That's not what--" At that moment, Hokori, with a devilish grin, used an arm to shove Seken by surprise and push him into a stunned Mirai. "--''he'' said!" He finished, stepping back a bit and smiling innocently. And Seken had been so unfortunate enough to press his hand right on one of the girl's breasts. He looked up obliviously. "Oh, I seem to have grabbed your--" "GET OUTTA HERE!" WHAM! An uppercut from Mirai slammed into his jaw and knocked him unforgivingly on his back, nearly knocking him out. "Hmph!" The girl muttered, dusting off her hands. The trio's eyes widened. "Yea..." Akane murmured. "I think we'll just go.." Laughing, Hokori reached up to help a dazed Seken to his feet. "You all right, man?" "I'll live..." Seken smirked, before looking over at the three girls. "And what? Leaving so soon? We're going in there, too, after all." "I think we have to take different doors." Akane replied, showing him the other door next to the one Akane was in front of. "Besides, she scares me." Akane gestured to Mirai. "Ah. Thanks for helping us notice." With that, Seken's team moved towards the said door, with Seken being so courteous as to push open the doors. They stepped in, scrolls in hand, and shut it behind them. Yuri opened their own doors. The walked into a circular room that was empty save for a poster with words written on it. Yuri looked at it. "Seems there are words missing. Think the scrolls are the key?" "I'm not sure..." Kaiya muttered reluctantly. "But, we gotta get somewhere, right?" Akane handed Yuri the Earth Scroll while she pulled out the Heaven Scroll. "Here goes nothing." They both peeled open the scroll and smoke issued from it. The girl who hadn't held the scroll held her breath as she observed the scene. It was obviously a tense moment - they had been told not to open the scrolls until they reached the tower. It was now up to fate to decide what was inside of the scroll... Yuri and Akane dropped the scrolls as if clutching a hot iron. The scrolls exploded like a smoke bomb and a dark figure could be seen in the smoke. It was enough to make Kaiya's pupils shrink out of shock, her hands twitching as she stared in astonishment. "S...se..." She stuttered, unable to find the confidence in order to finish. Karin was standing there again before her students, wearing a large smile on her face. "So you three actually made it out here." "Sensei?!" Kaiya exclaimed. "What were you doing inside of the scroll?!" "Taking a bath." Karin said sarcastically. "Waiting for you three of course!" The stunned female looked down on the scroll. "Of course... if we were to open the scrolls, and our Jonin spawned, then he/she would've instantly deemed us to fail. ALL this time, I expected something much more horrible to happen..." "Sensei, could you explain something to us?" Yuri asked. "What is it?" "That message up there on the wall...it seems to be missing a few words." The pink haired girl pointed out. "Good of you to notice that." Karin said, placing her hand on her students shoulder. "That message there is the motto for a Chunin, written by one of the former Hokages." "What does it say?" Kaiya questioned, turning her gaze to the writing as well. Karin tilted her neck from side to side before explaining. "The term "heaven" in this paragraph refers to the human mind and "earth" to the human body." She pointed at Akane. "If you lack "heaven", seek wisdom, be prepared. That's basically...for example, Akane's weakness is her brain. Gain knowledge and prepare yourself for missions." "Ah..." That brought a teasing grin up to Kaiya's face, and she looked over at her teammate. "So it's making fun of you, Akane-chan..." Karin turned to Kaiya. "If you lack "earth", run in the fields, seek advantages. So is Kaiya's weakness is stamina, she must continue to train harder." That gave Akane her own chance to grin. "Oh, my." Kaiya commented, looking at herself in surprise. "Surely I'm not that faint-prone...?" Then Karin turned to Yumi. "If you possess both "Heaven" and "Earth" you can succeed in even the most dangerous of missions. SO basically all missions become safe and easy." "So... Yumi possesses both?" "Yes." Karin replied. "While both you and Akane lack a portion (or more in Akane's case) of both." Akane frowned deeply. It brought a small smile across Kaiya's face, bringing out her optimism once more. "Oh, well... there's just no helping it. I'll have to train harder..." She resoluted, shrugging lightly. "Hell'll freeze over before I study." Akane said fiercely. "No need to sound so angry over it, Akane..." Kaiya chided gently, raising her hands up. Karin smiled. "Alright you three. It's off to stage three for you. Akane you'll love this stage. It'll fit you perfectly." Akane grinned. "I bet I know what it is!" "It's the combat stage, right?" Now, Kaiya knew Akane for a while, as friends. She had a good idea of Akane's personality by now - reluctant to study, but very eager to fight. So, she could safely assume the next - and possibly final - part would be combat. Karin motioned them towards the door. "Enter through there and Hokage-sama shall explain task three to you all." "Yes, ma'am." Smiling eagerly, Kaiya turned towards the door, took a few steps, and reached out to swing it open to reveal the room inside. It was a large room, with a balcony-like viewing stand high up and a large statue of the sign of the ram on the right side. Several Teams of Shinobi had already lined up, Seken and his team among them. "I see we're not the first ones to arrive..." Kaiya muttered. "Let's just line up." Yuri instructed. "It seems Hokage-sama is about to speak." "Yeah..." When they approached, they did so that they would be side-to-side with Seken and his own team. Kaiya folded her arms across her chest, watching the Hokage with interest. The white haired man was surrounded by man Jonin, Karin among them. He cleared his throat. "I would like to congratulate you all on making it to the third test...I didn't really expect so many Genin to make it here. But first I shall tell you all the true reason for this exam.." True purpose? Wasn't this supposed to present them with the rank of Chunin? That ran through Kaiya's mind as she listened, eyebrows furrowing a bit. "Why do we have all the allied countries taking an exam together?" He asked to no one in particular. "To promote friendship among the countries and raise the level of the Shinobi. The true reason is...a mock war between allied countries!" "...what?" That immediately brought Mirai to speak, expression one of incredulous shock. "You can't be serious, Hokage-sama! The friendship thing I can understand... but a mock war? There's no such thing." The Hokage smiled despite the raucous outburst. "If you go back in time," He explained. "The Current Allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle...that is the origin of the Chunin Exams." "..." Mirai remained silent after that, having nothing to say. "Now.." The Hokage cleared his throat. "I would like to say "onto the third exam" but considering the number of teams who have made it here.." he counted "7 teams, 21 participants, we need to have a preliminary round before we move onto the final exam." That meant only one thing: further elimination. Seken's team tensed slightly, but were otherwise largely unaffected by the declaration. A young man stepped forward. "I will be the proctor for this exam. If you wish to leave step forward now for the preliminaries are starting immediately." With their energy nearly depleted, and bones worn, each fighter knew that the battles would be short. There would be no recovery time to re-gain lost strength and heal injuries. They would just have to toughen up for now and go through it. "Am I to take it that no one wishes to surrender?" The proctor asked. The biggest surprise happened. The platinum haired boy raised his hand. "The kid!" Kaiya's eyes widened, having her gaze turned towards him. Why on Earth was he surrendering for? It seemed as if he was strong enough to wipe away the competition... He motioned towards his teammates, who raised their hands as well. The proctor looked at them. He pointed at the boy then the two girls. "You are Hakkin, Naru, and Kin from Iwagakure?" The boy nodded and motioned towards his teammates who followed him out of the hall. Well, at least there would be less problems for her team. Kaiya almost breathed a sigh of relief, having seen what was to be an impervious threat to her team retreat from the competition. "Anyone else?" There was none that dared to approach. In fact, Seken and his mates looked defiant, ready to hold their own against the challenge. "I see.." The proctor smiled. So many promising young Genin. "Then I will ask you all to please proceed up the stairs to the balcony." After a collective, "Yes, sir!" The ninja immediately did as they were told, their feet carrying them up the balcony. When Seken's team followed suit, Hokori put a hand on Seken's shoulder. "Hey, you all right?" He asked, concern laced in his tone. The man nodded, putting on a re-assuring smile. "I'll live. Though I can't say the same for both of you." He looked towards Mirai,eyes half-lidding. "You sure you want to continue? Your abilites--" But Mirai raised her own hand, smiling in return. "I'll try to use them as less as I can in order to keep myself up. Don't you guys worry about me, either!" She said confidently. Akane grinned. "Guess we're in this one, no backing out eh?" "Not at all." Kaiya said gently, smiling. "This is what our training was for, right?" "Yup!" Akane said, sweeping Kaiya up bridal style out of nowhere. "And so I can beat my sister!" That made the students near turn around in question, at first, then a mix of various reactions: bemusement, amusement, exasperation, nad disgust. The Seken team was no different. "Friggin' clowns..." Seken. "That is so embarrassing...and gross..." Mirai. "Hoh boy, it just got a little bit hotter..." Hokori. "E-easy...!" Kaiya laughed sheepishly, in an effort to calm Akane. "I know you're excited, but..." Akane let Kaiya down, laughing madly as the all took their places up on the Balcony and Karin appeared in their midst. "Excited are you?" She asked Akane. "You bet!" She grinned. "I'm gonna win!!" Had Kaiya not been embarrassed at the moment, she would've immediately agreed. Instead, she remained silent, arms on the balcony, and eyes looking over the arena. The proctor cleared his throat. "If you will all turn your attention to the board, you will see the names of the first fighters. Letters spun across the board and stopped. Buke Hokori vs Tenno Yuri Hokori vs Yuri "Looks like I'm up." Grinning, Hokori allowed himself to grip the balcony and leap over it, landing in a crouched position on the arena floor. "And I"m up against a Tenno... this is gonna be fun." He thought, a broad grin decorating his face. "Whoop their ass extra hard for sensei!" Mirai cheered for her teammate. Yuri sighed. "I'm up first.. I'm way to nervous for this.." Akane looked worried. "What's wrong Yue-chan?" "Yuri..." Kaiya patted a hand on her shoulder. "Are you nervous?" "A little I think." Yuri replied. "I'm not sure why." Akane grinned. "Don't worry!" She said confidently. "You go get 'em! And if you lose, Onee-chan'll make us something good to eat when we get home 'k?" Yuri smiled. "Alright." She jumped off the railing and landed on her feet, straightening her hair. "All combatants to the center." The proctor instructed. Accordingly, Hokori stepped up to the center, a little off to the side of the proctor. Yuri approached the center as well. "Alright." The proctor cleared his throat. "You will fight with no time limit. You lose if you die, surrender, or are rendered unconscious. In the case of a draw, neither combatant will proceed to the finals. Are you ready?" "Bitchin'." Hokori answered, clenching his fists up and looking at his opponent. "I guess." Yuri replied. gulping. "Then...START!" He commanded and jumped back. Hokori's Strength When the proctor jumped back, Hokori rushed forward. There was only a small distance between him and his opponent when he did so. Therefore, such a movement would've been surprising and allow the man to gain the advantage. He wasn't the genius that Mirai was - but he wasn't a moron, either. He knew what he was doing. He hurled a punch, aimed straight for the stomach. The girl wasn't off her guard though, and she caught his fist, and twisting his arm, pulled him in and swung her free fist at his face. In parallel to her own movement, he raised his own hand and caught her fist. For a moment, it was a deadlock, both sides attempting to regain control. But, with an elegant motion, he swung one of his legs to sweep through Yuri's own. Yuri jumped, dodging the sweep and letting his fist go, wrenching her own out of his grasp at the same time. she flipped backwards, and stopped near the wall. She pressed her hand to the ground. "Excellent there is enough earth here for an Earth Release jutsu." She thought. She pressed her hands the the ground and it began to crumble. "Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!!" She cried lifting a huge ball of earth above her and launching it at the man. At that moment, Hokori clasped his hands together, lunging forward at the massive boulder that was hurled towards him. He closed his eyes, a faint blue aura surrounded him for a moment. Then, the boulder caused him to disappear from Yuri's view. SMASH! With those clasped hands, Hokori swung forth a blow that tore through the stone like a sword would through flesh. Under the force, it shattered into pieces and clattered to the ground. "Hurlin' rocks at me won't do, kid!" He taunted, continusing his rush at her. Her eyes winded for a moment. "What the hell is he??" She thought, throwing a kunai his way. However, the smiling faces on his teammate's faces told that they knew what had taken place. Hokori had tapped into the power of the jutsu of what he called "The Ultimate Shield." With cell manipulation, he had enhanced the level of carbon in his own body, thus strengthening his resistance to abrasion. His strength could take care of the rest. However, the blue aura that had formed around him had faded just as the blow was struck, meaning that he needed only a brief moment to harness the power. For the moment, he was back on normal level. With reflexes, he leaned sideways to dodge the kunai, closing the distance between them with another stride. He swung his fist in a swift uppercut towards her chin. She tilted her head out of the way, and continued to run up the wall. She jumped from the wall to the ceiling and again threw a kunai, this time equipped with a exploding tag, at Hokori. "Ya running away?! Better to face your fears!!" He tilted backwards and executed a series of backflips, not only avoiding the kunai along with the subsequent explosion, but landed on the side wall himself. Taking his eyes upwards towards his aerial opponent, he thrust himself outwards in order to meet her. The fact that she was in mid-air would create a bit of helplessness, leaving her unable to dodge the blow. Once he was in proximity, he tilted himself and swung a leg towards the back of her head, having stopped just under her. The blow hit home, sending waves of pain throughout Yuri's body and sending Yuri herself spiraling into the ground. He, too, landed on the ground. A bit of sweat was dripping down his face, but he was grinning anyway. Now that his opponent was on the ground, she was vulnerable to further attack. One more solid blow, and she would be finished. He backflipped, twisted his body in mid-air, and descended upon her, his leg stuck out in what was intending to be a final thrusting kick to the girl's chest. The Blossoms Bloom "No!" She thought forming an unknown seal and her petals whirled around her in an effort to shield her. Gritting his teeth, Hokori found himself in a trapped situation. Dodging was now out of the question; as he couldn't twist himself away from hitting the petals head-on. He had no idea of what they were gonna do to him upon physical contact, but he couldn't risk it. Once again, he lightly tapped into the Ultimate Shield once more, bracing himself for the collision. He collided with the petals and they absorbed most of the impact allowing Yuri to make her escape. She fled to the other side of the room and began to climb the wall again. "Sensei, what is she doing?" Akane asked Karin. "It looks like she's..fleeing.." "It'd appear so.." Kaiya's eyes widened considerably in shock. "She's...fleeing?! That could only mean that she's losing!" She thought, apprehension crawling into her veins. She looked on as she saw Hokori immediately pursuing her. "Come on, now! There's nothing to fear but fear itself!" He crowed after her. Seeing their teammate's opponent run from him, both Mirai and Seken were looking confident. Hokori's relentless attack had obviously sent some confusion in her fighting spirit, and now she was on the run. It wouldn't be long now until she forfeited, or get thrashed by Hokori. "That's it, Hokori!" Seken shouted, raising a fist. "Cut 'er down!" The moment Yuri reached the ceiling again, she pulled on a string, and explosive kunai launched from all directions at Hokori. "My trap is a success." Immediately, Seken's, Mirai's, and Hokori's eyes widened. There was no where to run now, and no where to go. Hokori instantly slipped up and descended, but there was no escaping this trap. His eyes widened in shock and panic, and he raised his arms in an X-cross position in an effort to block... ...before the kunai exploded within his vicinity. ''BOOM! Yuri looked down at the flaming explosion with a smile on her face. Had she done it? "I think she's done it!!" Akane grinned. Kaiya sighed mentally in relief. "She wasn't losing, after all..." At first glance, it could be seen that a prone figure was lying on the ground, unable to be seen clearly due to the smoke. This wasn't a good sign for both Mirai and Seken, both gazing on with worried looks. Surely, Hokori couldn't have survived such an explosive blast, the shockwaves likely to have torn him apart. They could only hope now that he was at least barely alive... The smoke cleared. The surprise was evident. Hokori was alive. Slowly, gasping and panting, he brought himself to a crouching position, both hands on the ground to prop himself. Now his body was completely enveloped in a blue glow, those his features visible. Other than several scratches, it appeared as if he had been unaffected by the blast. Kaiya's hands clenched in shock. "H...he's a monster!!" She thought in fear. Yuri sighed. "Dammit.." "C'mon Yuri rip 'em apart!!" Akane called out. "I'll treat you to something niiice later!" "S-shut up!" Yuri called back her face slightly red. Slowly, Hokori managed to stand up on his own two feet, albeit now breathing heavily as he settled into his own stance once more. The blue aura around him dissipated immediately, returning him to his normal state. "How the hell did you survive that?" Yuri asked incredulously. "Ultimate...Shield..." Hokori gasped out in reply. "It enhances the carbon atoms inside of my body, increasing its natural resistance to abrasion. But when pushed to the limit, my technique is invincible. Considering my strength, it makes me a god when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and physical prowess." "I see..." Yuri murmured. She quickly formed seals and clasped her hands together. "Well, I'm getting tired so I'm going to try and beat you now. "Petal Release: Thousand Cherry Blossoms!" She murmured and a gigantic wave of petals flew towards Hokori intent on cutting him. Moves of Desperation Quickly, Hokori leaped out of the way, barely avoiding the pink death as it slammed into the wall where he once was. Yuri moved her hand to follow his movements and the petals followed him too. Immediately, Hokori yanked out two kunai and hurled them up at the ceiling, straight at the upside-down Yuri. "Like that'll hit!" She said, releasing the chakra from her feet and she fell, only to be caught by petals. She glared at Hokori and sent petals rushing after him. "I can't keep this up...!" Thanks to the massive chakra exertion he had used, his body was wearing down, and the petals were ever so closer to him. He didn't have enough chakra in order to summon another Ultimate Shield in order to protect him this time. He hoped this next move would count. Changing direction, he ran up the wall, carrying two more kunai in his hand. Yuri panted. "I've used too much chakra..gotta make this one work!" She made the sign of the boar and the petals turned into a giant tidal wave that aimed to crash right into Hokori. The petals missed by a millimeter. Hokori jumped off the wall and hurled the two kunai at his target. Yuri tried to jump but she didn't get far and the two kunai pierced her stomach. POOF! It was even more worse for her - for those two kunai had not been simple kunai. They were shadow clones... in disguise. Each of their fists now impaled Yuri's lower torso, burying themselves in the lower internal organs. As they descended, the clones flipped Yuri over so that her back slammed into the ground upon contact. They disappeared instantly afterwards. The real Hokori fell to his knees, strength completely drained from his body. Mirai and Seken could only look on with tension. "D...did he do it...?" "Yuri..." thought Kaiya worriedly. Yuri's eyes rolled back, showing the white of her sclera and she fell unconscious. The proctor ran over to check. "Yuri Tenno is unconscious. This match goes to Hokori Buke." Hokori managed to gain the energy for one last chuckle. "Just like I said...b...bitchin'..." Then, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed into the darkness that had claimed his opponent. The medic-nin immediately rushed out to collect the two fallen shinobi, but not before Akane had jumped down from the stands and rushed over to Yuri. The pink haired girls eyes fluttered open the moment Akane arrived next to her. "A-Akane?" She asked groggily. "Yea it's me.." Akane whispered. "I-I lost didn't I?" "Yes." Akane replied and she placed her hand within Yuri's. "Don't worry these people'll patch you up and you'll be back out here to watch the rest of us." Yuri smiled for a moment before slipping back into unconsciousness and the Medic-nin ushered her and Hokori out of the area. Akane resumed her place on the balcony. "Will Yuri be OK?" Kaiya questioned. "I'm sure she will.." Akane replied. "The Konoha medic-nin are good..." She didn't sound too certain though. The board was moving again and it showed the names two Shinobi not of Team Karin or Butcher. "Get ready, Mirai..." Seken warned. Mirai took in a deep breath and nodded, her eyes fixed on the screen. The two shinobi who were listed had a brief battle that ended in a draw and they were taken to the infirmary. The board spun again and the names showed. Tenno Akane vs Jiki Mirai Mirai vs Akane It was her turn. Without hesitation, Mirai leaped gracefully over the balcony and landed in the center of the arena. It would take both her mental prowess and physical prowess in order to keep herself from using her jutsu - in her tired state, she wouldn't last very long against her opponent if she exerted too much of her strength. "Play it safe, Mirai...and we can win this one, too..." Seken thought, smiling earnestly. Akane vanished in a burst of flame and reappeared in the center of the field. She cracked her knuckles. "Let's get this over with." The proctor stood up. "Center of the stage, combatants!" Akane, who was already there didn't move. All Mirai had to do was rise herself up to stand, directed a narrowed-eye stare in Akane's direction. Although her body was standing straight, her hands were balled into fists. Her heart pumped quickly, fuelind the adrenaline and excitement in her further. "You all know the rules. Match No. 2..START!" The proctor jumped back. Just in time to, as the moment he said start, Akane had charged at Mirai and slammed her fist into her face. At first, when the fist plunged into the jaw, Mirai's head was immediately sent to the side. Her eyes had immediately shut before impact, and for milliseconds, she appeared to be stunned. However, she opened the nearest eye to snap her vision back towards her opponent. What she had just done was an obvious challenge towards the older girl - something that she was willing to accept. In response, she brought her own blow. With the bone of her elbow, she struck Akane in the throat just below where her neck and chin met in a swift uppercut. These blows sent intense pain throughout Akane's body but she forced herself to ignore it and drew out a kunai her mother had made for her a long time ago , drenched in a special brand of poison. "Kaa-san...help me.." Akane thought as she threw the kunai at Mirai. Poisoned kunai? It was insulting. With a step forward, along with a move to the side Mirai was easily able to evade the kunai. In reponse, she yanked out six kunai, three in each hand, and threw each trio at her opponent. Akane drew her sword and, pouring chakra into the blade, cut the kunai into pieces. Mirai took this time to rush at the other Genin again, but when she was a considerable distance away, she leaped into the air in a spinning front-flip. Her leg twisted downward for a thrusting kick towards the head. She ducked and slid under Mirai. She stood up and flaming chakra surrounded her. Immediately, Mirai raised an arm to shield her face from the heat of the flames, all the while staring at Akane with opened eyes. Her hair billowed slightly, and so did her clothes. "What is this''?"'' She thought in puzzlement. The flame aura spiked. "Despite the fact that it wasn't you fault.." Akane muttered. "But I'm holding you accountable for the state Yuri is in." Mirai scowled at the comment, and she flinched under the heat. She was even made to jump back a bit in order to avoid being burned. "Does it look like I care?" She retorted. "You'll be joining her soon!" "Like that'll happen." Akane said fiercely, gripping her sword. She charged at Mirai, made a wide leap, and swung the blade down, imbued with her aura of flame. "It's no use...I can read movements like that too easily!" With perfect timing, Mirai leaped out of the way, the flames hungrily licking at the lining of her clothing. In her flip, she tossed two explosive kunai at her opponent. The moment the kunai hit, Akane exploded in a blast of smoke and flame. Mirai landed on her feet, looking over the explosion with narrowed eyes. "Did I get her?" She wondered, attempting to peer through the smoke. When the smoke cleared however, Akane was nowhere to be found. "All right..." Glaring, Mirai searched around, fists ready to be swung. "You can't hide forever..." She crowed, turning her body every which way. "Who said I was hiding?" Akane called out from above. She was encircled by flames and her blade was completely ablaze once more. She swung the blade and a bladed whip of flame sprung from it, heading towards Mirai. Swiftly, Mirai jumped backwards in order to avoid it. Akane jerked her blade back and the whip came back with it. She then thrust her blade forward and the whip lunged after Mirai like a snake. With a boost of her legs, the opposing girl leapt backwards just in time for the whip to strike the place where she once was. Once she landed, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in a readying stance. "Is that the best you can do?!" She continued to taunt, even as she stared up at her opponent ablaze. Akane sheathed her sword, and formed the seals Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger. "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!" She expelled a large amount of Chakra-altered gun-powdered ash at Mirai intending to burn her. That was when Mirai's eyes widened in surprise. The massive cloud of ash was covering a wide area and closing in fast on her. Even as it closed in, she could feel the intensity of the flames. If that cloud made contact with her, she would suffer a painful death. And that was what she was trying to avoid. She couldn't die. Not with her teammates counting on her. With a side leap, she lunged away from the deadly mass of ash... ...and the side of her left arm was caught on the cloud's outline. She shut one eye, pain shooting through the inflicted arm as she came to a stop off to the side of the cloud. She had to suck in air through her teeth in order to keep herself from screaming out. "D...damn...!" She thought in frustration, eyeing the third-degree burn with a mix of shock, anger, and fear. "Lemme cool you down." Akane formed the seals Dragon → Tiger → Hare. "Water Release: Violent Water Wave!" She shot out a large, forceful stream of water at Mirai. With another leap, Mirai was once again forced to evade, though still recieving splash "damage" from where the stream had struck. The burned arm stung with pain as the droplets hit, but slowly the muscles started to relax once more. Little by little, she could move her arm. Akane was getting annoyed. Her chakra was running low and she was getting tired. She reached into her hip pouch and drew out a small sphere again. This time it was a Flash Bomb. She threw it up into the air where it let loose blinding light. It was so unfortunate that Mirai had mistaken it for another Flash Bomb. Instinctively, she closed one eye instead of both of them, and the light blinded that very one. Her vision was turned white, and she raised her arms up in a vain attempt to shield her face. Akane, eyes closed, bit her thumb and began to form seals. "Summoning Jutsu!" She cried and thrust her hand onto the ground. Smoke enveloped her as a Phoenix was summon into the battlefield. The light died away as the Phoenix spread it's wings. A majestic bird. Both Seken's and Mirai's eyes widened at the sight, as they watched the bird spread out its wings. The dark-skinned male looked down on his teammate with apprehension. "Remember, Mirai... don't use them....!" He mentally reminded, albeit knowing she wouldn't hear. For she was too busy readying herself once more. The bird took flight with Akane in it's back and it flapped its wing hard, sending down embers at Mirai. Normally, Mirai would've been easily able to evade such projectiles. However, because of the position the bird was in, it was like a foot soldier taking on a bomber with nothing but a rifle. All she could do was stumble back as the embers exploded around her, doing her best to shield herself. Akane pointed at Mirai and the Phoenix opened it's mouth, spewing flames at her. There had to be some offensive action stopped. Otherwise, Mirai would be continuously pinned down until she was rendered helpless... or worse. Going into a backflip, she raced up the walls parallel to her opponent's position. Akane expelled fireballs at Mirai. The girl immediately dodged them all, her hands finally reaching up to touch the ceiling. With another flip, was on her feet and running across the ceiling. "Your parents must be real disappointed by now! I haven't even used any jutsu yet!" "All you're good for is dodging!" Akane shot back. "You haven't landed one good hit on me!" Mirai thrusted her legs as soon as she got close. Her results were fruitful. She was now descending towards the back of the Pheonix - or rather, its summoner. "Then prepare to be surprised." She said lowly, eyes set in a narrowed stare, and a slight scowl on her face. She swung her right leg up at the side of Akane's head. The blow hit it's mark and it sent Akane flying from her steed. Before she hit the ground however, her Phoenix had swooped down and caught her on it's back. Akane groaned. "I hate that bitch.." Ultimately, Mirai fell off the bird completely, taken off-balance by the sudden swoop. Now, even as she was descending, she continued to stare up at her opponents with open defiance. She yanked out a kunai, reached out - and stabbed the Phoenix right in its eye ball. Only there was a more terrorizing fact about it. It had an explosive tag. She let go and descended towards the ground. BOOM! The Phoenix blew up as the bomb did and Akane fell to the ground by herself. She landed on her feet and scowled. She was running out of ideas and fast. She began to form seals again. "I almost out of chakra..." She panted. "Gotta make this one count!" Victory was ever so approaching for Mirai. She felt confidence rise within her, seeing her opponent near-exhaustion. Even if she couldn't finish this quickly, she clearly held the advantage in stamina. It would be a step further for her team if she could win this battle here and now. With that being thought, she threw herself at Akane again, another kunai held in a backhand position in one hand. Akane didn't move, her hands still forming seals. She didn't even seem to notice Mirai coming towards her. Karin's eyes flashed red for a moment. "Her chakra is building..." The gap was closed. Mirai swung the blade for a final blow to the neck. Akane's eyes widened as she ducked, and she quickly drew a kunai. It was immediately coated in flames and Akane stabbed Mirai in the gut. The moment the Kunai pierced her flesh, a thin beam of flame was shot from the kunai and out of her body in a straight line. This caused Seken's eyes to widen in complete surprise. Kaiya immediately looked hopeful, having remained in tense silence the entire time. "Yes!" She thought. "She did it!" It felt as if she had just been shot with a high-caliber bullet. The burning sensation that raced through her gut didn't fade, even as she fell to her hands and knees. Her kunai dropped to the ground, a few steps away from the two combatants. Akane's breathing was ragged. She was completely out of chakra. If this girl got back up, it was over for her. Fortunately, she wouldn't be standing for a long while. As she attempted to rise to her feet, the pain overwhelmed her, and she collapsed on her back, clutching her stomach. Panting heavily, she raised her other hand in the air to the proctor. "I...I give..." She managed to say clearly, though her voice was strained. "Mirai has surrendered!" The proctor called out. "This fight goes to Akane Tenno!" Akane grinned as she fell to her knees. "I-I won!" Immediately, as soon as she did, Kaiya was there at her side, kneeling at her level. "Akane, are you all right?" She questioned worriedly. "I've felt better but I don't need the infirmary." Akane replied, standing up, her knees shaking. The medic-nin rushed out to collect Mirai. Standing up as well, Kaiya reached up to catch Akane gently by the waist in an effort to help support her. She looked on as a panting Mirai was lifted onto the stretcher and carried off, with her male teammate looking on with a solemn expression. "I probably would have lost if not for that move.." Akane muttered she walked up to the balcony. "I kinda improvised it." "Either way, you made it through..." Kaiya assured, carrying Akane all the way. Once she was sure she could hold her own, the short-haired girl released her companion. "And that's a good thing!" Akane sat down near the edge of the balcony. "Yeah..I guess so.." She sighed and closed her eyes, apparently asleep. The board began to move again. ???? Kaiya vs ???? A Shinobi on the far side of the balcony jumped down to center stage. "Huh...?" In surprise, Kaiya turned towards the board for a minute to stare for a few seconds, wondering why were some of the names replaced with question marks. She sighed; it was only more reason to be nervous. Without hesitation, she jumped down and landed in the center of the arena, standing up to face her opponent. The shinobi was cloaked and their face masked. The shinobi resembled an ANBU. It made Kaiya all the more nervous, even as she settled into a defensive stance. The Shinobi removed their mask to reveal a pretty face. It was a woman, with a very gentle expression. "Combatants to center!" The Proctor called out. The woman moved to the center. "...we were already at the center...." thought Kaiya, frowning at the display of what seemed like disattention and ignorance. But she remained silent as she stared into her opponent's eyes. It made her relax a bit to see such a gentle face. At least all of the ninja weren't the scruff, rough-and-tumble type.